Jewish Cinema Mississippi is very proud to present four films during the five days of our 2014 Festival starting Wednesday, January, 22nd and ending Sunday January 26th with a movie and live concert by noted musician (and documentary film star) Dan Nichols. This year’s film selection committee members represented a vast range of backgrounds and interests as they worked together to identify some of the many genres that are considered Jewish Cinema. Selection Committee co chairs Jonathan Larkin and Elaine Barenblat were joined by committee members Alec Kassoff, Dan Ring, David Kweller, Gail Dellar, Gavin Brannan, Lex Rofes, Peter Zapletal, Rose Mary Foncree, and Sheila Hailey as they worked very hard over the last few months to watch, review, discuss, and rate more than 25 feature films, short subjects and documentaries that were under consideration for the four available slots in the festival.
The selections for this year’s festival will stand apart for moviegoers in the variety and depth of the film’s subjects and their cinematic techniques. They are both entertaining and thought provoking as they explore contemporary Jewish life and culture in the United States and Israel while dealing with many of the hard issues confronting religious and cultural differences which exist. Hopefully they will provide a basis for community dialog long after each film is over.
The Selection Committee’s co-chairs, Jonathan Larkin and Elaine Barenblat were excited about the committee’s work on this project. Elaine mentioned “as a 20-something still relatively new to Jackson, I was thrilled and quite honored to be considered for this committee. I am very much a people-person and I love watching movies, so this has been an incredible experience and a wonderful fit for me. I look forward to continued work with Jonathan and everyone else as we finalize preparations for the big event!”
Jonathan added that “the entire committee focused on how to present the many aspects of what is now considered ‘Jewish film and culture’ to highlight its depth. And with the varied backgrounds and interests of the many members of the group, I am confident we succeeded in accomplishing this goal. We hope the greater Jackson community will join us all four evenings to experience what we’ve already shared with each other. The opportunity to showcase a brand new film being shown for the first time in the South (Wonders) and have a first showing of 2012 Foreign Film Academy Award Nominee and multiple Israeli Oscar winner Footnote is just an added plus to the selection”
The event continues to draw attendees from all segments of the Jackson community who share in the enjoyment of unique cultural experiences and independent films. We look forward to seeing our old friends as well as many new faces in January. We can’t wait to see you there!
The selections for this year’s festival will stand apart for moviegoers in the variety and depth of the film’s subjects and their cinematic techniques. They are both entertaining and thought provoking as they explore contemporary Jewish life and culture in the United States and Israel while dealing with many of the hard issues confronting religious and cultural differences which exist. Hopefully they will provide a basis for community dialog long after each film is over.
The Selection Committee’s co-chairs, Jonathan Larkin and Elaine Barenblat were excited about the committee’s work on this project. Elaine mentioned “as a 20-something still relatively new to Jackson, I was thrilled and quite honored to be considered for this committee. I am very much a people-person and I love watching movies, so this has been an incredible experience and a wonderful fit for me. I look forward to continued work with Jonathan and everyone else as we finalize preparations for the big event!”
Jonathan added that “the entire committee focused on how to present the many aspects of what is now considered ‘Jewish film and culture’ to highlight its depth. And with the varied backgrounds and interests of the many members of the group, I am confident we succeeded in accomplishing this goal. We hope the greater Jackson community will join us all four evenings to experience what we’ve already shared with each other. The opportunity to showcase a brand new film being shown for the first time in the South (Wonders) and have a first showing of 2012 Foreign Film Academy Award Nominee and multiple Israeli Oscar winner Footnote is just an added plus to the selection”
The event continues to draw attendees from all segments of the Jackson community who share in the enjoyment of unique cultural experiences and independent films. We look forward to seeing our old friends as well as many new faces in January. We can’t wait to see you there!